Operation Hold Your Peace
by livingondaydreams
Summary: A parody in response to all those awful Speak Now songfics. When Annabeth breaks up with Percy, what will he do to get her back?
1. The Proposal

**A/N: Please note that this is ****not in any way to be taken seriously****. **_**Operation Hold Your Peace**_** is a parody in response to all those awful **_**Speak Now**_** songfics where Annabeth basically thinks the lyrics to the song as she crashes Percy and Rachel's wedding. **_**OHYP**_** is the opposite side of that extremely unlikely situation. Enjoy, have a laugh, and feel free to leave a review!**

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><p><strong>Operation Hold Your Peace<strong>

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><p><strong>Part 1: The Proposal<strong>

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><p>"—And then she slammed the door in my face," Percy sighed. He leaned over to rest his elbows on his knees as he ran his fingers through his hair tiredly.<p>

"Ouch. That sucks, man," Grover said.

Rachel nodded. "So how are you gonna get her back?"

His head shot up indignantly. "You think I didn't try? I was practically on my knees begging for half an hour."

Grover leaned back and sighed. This was all pretty hard to take in. Sure, Percy and Annabeth had had some rocky periods over the last six years. But this was a new low for Olympus's favorite couple. Annabeth had kicked Percy out of their apartment a few days ago, and so far she showed no signs of giving in to his desperate pleas. From what Percy had told Grover, the argument started over something that was ridiculous, in retrospect—an untied shoelace. Somehow, the whole situation had escalated until a very dumbstruck Percy was out on the streets of New York carrying a cardboard box with most of his worldly possessions.

The mere possibility of a Percabeth (as the Aphrodite cabin so squealingly called it) breakup was simply preposterous. Eventually, they'd make up. And then probably make out. (That was the way a lot of fights ended between the two.) They had to get over it. Right?

"...So you really can't think of anything you haven't done to get her to forgive you?" Rachel was saying from down on her squashy purple bean bag. The trio was gathered in her apartment, which was as eclectic and crazy as its inhabitant.

"Rachel," Percy groaned in frustration. "What _can_ I do?"

It was clearly a rhetorical question, but suddenly Rachel jumped as if she'd been electrocuted, her eyes glowing bright green. Percy and Grover stared at her, shocked, as the snakelike mist began to pour from her mouth.

"_Fire and water will unite in lies_

_As the love of the ages threatens to die._

_A false promise one's heart shall break_

_Unless the ultimate risk she is prepared to take._

_But should the ruse of rings fail,_

_Love eternal shall not prevail."_

Grover lurched forward and caught her as the mist abruptly shut off and Rachel slumped in her seat. She blinked, straightening up with a dazed expression.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked.

Rachel sat there with a puzzlement written all over her face for a moment before smirking in a way that made Percy positive that he wasn't going to like what she'd figured out.

"Oh. Well, this is going to be interesting," she said conversationally. "Percy, I know how you're gonna get Annabeth back."

"What? How? Tell me!"

Her grin widened as she looked him straight in the eyes.

"We're getting married."


	2. The Plan

**A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback! Hope you guys like Part Two.  
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><p><strong>Operation Hold Your Peace<strong>

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><p><strong>Part 2: The Plan<strong>

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><p>Rachel stared at the gown critically, pirouetting a few times to get the 360 view.<p>

A grand total of fifty layers of tulle made up the skirt, covered in light pink satin and hundreds of bows and tiny crystal beads. The bodice could have been tiny, but Rachel had insisted on putting ruffles and ribbons on every spare inch. The sleeves were nearly as poufy as Lady Diana's, and the dress as a whole was reminiscent of a strawberry-flavored marshmallow.

"It's absolutely repulsive," she cried happily. "This will be _perfect_."

Percy chuckled and shook his head as the bridal store employees looked at each other quizzically. Clearly, they were not used to heiresses coming in search of the most "hideously princess-like" dress in the world. In fact, he was pretty sure that something like this had never happened before.

The dress was all a ruse, of course. Percy and Rachel had decided (after he finally gave in) that they would have to make the fake wedding as much of a spectacle as possible without giving Annabeth any hints that it was a fraud. Not the easiest task. They had told their relatives and friends (Mr. Dare wasn't very happy) about the falsehood in order to avoid a lot of awkward questions, but that was also part of the plan. If their guests had been suspicious, that would have tipped off Annabeth.

See, Rachel had managed to convince Percy using her all-knowing Oracle skills that pretending to marry someone else was the only way to get Annabeth back, if they were meant to reunite. According to a vision Rachel had had, Annabeth would get up at the "speak now or forever hold your peace" part of the ceremony, if the plan worked.

Which meant that Percy had to completely cut off the love of his life, pretend to be madly infatuated with Rachel (who was supposed to be the _virgin_ Oracle of Delphi) so that Annabeth would become jealous, and go through all the motions of preparing for a wedding, even though the wedding was hopefully going to be interrupted. They had a backup plan in case Annabeth didn't object—Percy would leave Rachel at the altar, claiming that he wasn't comfortable with marrying the Oracle (which he wasn't) and that he was still in love with Annabeth (which he was).

Percy just prayed that the complicated plan would work, because otherwise he would have a lot of uncomfortable explaining to do.

As they walked out of the store (it took both of them to carry the luxuriant dress), Rachel pulled a list.

"Okay," she said purposefully, "We've got the decorator and the dress. And you emailed the invitations guy, right? Good. Now, what else…?"

"Unfortunately, I think a tux is next on the list," Percy muttered, glancing over Rachel's shoulder to look at the offensive list.

She beamed, a wicked glint coming into her eye. "Right you are, Percy. Come on, there's an Eisenberg & Eisenberg we can go to right over near 5th."

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><p>It was definitely a good thing that the pseudo-bride-to-be was an heiress. The handmade suits all around Percy were thousands of dollars at the cheapest. Rachel, of course, dragged him over to the manager, gave the name "Dare," and laughed as Percy was led to an even more expensive-looking section in the back with a "you'll-pay-for-this-later" look on his face.<p>

The manager—Percy was pretty sure that his name was Cooper—snatched a few suits off the racks after measuring him with speed that would have made any dryad jealous. He held them up as if imagining them on his client, occasionally muttering "Oh, _God_ no," or "Hmm… maybe."

"What's the theme for your wedding, Mr. Jackson?" Cooper asked.

Percy blinked. "Um… I'm not sure, exactly. Basically as all-out as possible."

"Sort of a princess theme, actually," Rachel said, laughing. Percy jumped—he hadn't even noticed that she was there. "Make sure he doesn't settle for something cheap, Cooper. I want our wedding to be spectacular." She winked at Percy and skipped out the door. He glared after her.

"Ah… a man of simple tastes, I see? Yes, I've had quite a few of those," the manager said. "Don't worry, I think we can find something that will work for the both of you."

Percy focused on taking deep breaths as they tried on what felt like dozens of suits. _This is for Annabeth_, he reminded himself. _You're doing this for Annabeth_.

Finally, after buying a ridiculously expensive tuxedo that Cooper insisted looked "debonair" on Percy, they trudged out of the store.

"You know, Rachel," he said uncomfortably, "You really don't have to go through with this. I mean, it's costing a fortune, even for you, and your dad is pretty upset—"

She sighed in exasperation. "Don't start this again, Percy. We've both agreed that this will work, and that it's the best way to get Annabeth back. So you can't go around getting cold feet about a marriage that isn't even _real_. Okay? This will all turn out fine."

"Yeah," he muttered. "Just three more weeks of torture, right?"


	3. The Bait

**A/N: Yes, Annabeth might seem a little bit OOC. But Athena always has a plan. Mwa ha ha ha... (Um, that doesn't mean Athena will be involved. Sorry.) Enjoy, and please remember to leave a review!  
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><p><strong>Operation Hold Your Peace<strong>

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><p><strong>Part 3: The Bait<strong>

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><p>"I cannot <em>believe<em> him!" Annabeth shrieked, pacing furiously around her rather empty apartment. "It's been _barely_ two months, and he's already—he's freaking _getting married_! What the Hades is he _thinking_? And to Rachel of all people—she's not even supposed to date! How can Apollo be okay with this? How could _Percy_ be okay with this? How could he do this to _me_?'

She collapsed roughly on a chair, breathing heavily and tearing at her hair in an effort to calm herself. It wasn't working.

"I don't think he's very… _stable_ right now, Annabeth," Grover said carefully. He loved his part in the plan. He was the one who got to pretend to be on Annabeth's side—like a double agent.

"What?"she asked, looking up at him in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"

"He was pretty torn up when you broke up with him. He hasn't been, well, thinking clearly lately. I think he's still kind of hoping… I dunno. It was mostly Rachel. Who suggested, you know, getting married. She was very, uh, persuasive." He stifled a snicker.

She cringed. "I don't even want to think about what you mean by _persuasive_."

Annabeth stared at the pink, flowery, delicate invitation clutched in her hands. _You are cordially invited to celebrate the union of Rachel Elizabeth Dare and Perseus Jackson_, it said. Like she would ever put herself through that kind of torture. She wondered who had invited her—probably Percy. He would have felt awkward otherwise.

This entire situation was strange, she thought. Why on earth would either of the two agree to this? It didn't make sense, logically. Rachel was the Oracle, which meant no dating. For her, getting married would mean breaking her vow. And Percy was impulsive, yes, but he had never seemed like the type of guy to get married just two months after being broken up with.

"Grover…" she said hesitantly. "You said Percy was upset after we broke up. But then why…?" She left the question hanging, hoping that he would understand what she was trying to ask.

Her satyr friend chewed on a tin can as he tried to look torn. This would be the big moment—when he convinced Annabeth to go crash the wedding. It was crucial that he remained in character, though.

"I think—strictly between you and me—I think he might be doing it… well, kind of in retaliation. To you breaking up with him, I mean. Like I said, he hasn't been very stable recently."

Annabeth's eyes widened. "What? In—in _retaliation_? But— So you mean… so you mean he's still kind of hoping I'll, what, take him back?"

Grover grinned in spite of himself. "That's _exactly_ what I mean. He still loves you. A lot."

"How—? Oh. Right. Empathy link. Are you sure?" Her heart began to race wildly. Percy still loved her. Which meant that she might be able to get him back, stop him from marrying Rachel. She could do it. She knew she could. He still loved her.

"Positive. I'd bet two tons of tin cans that if you said you still loved him, he'd come sprinting back. You're his lifeline, remember? The one thing keeping him tied to mortal life, and all that gushy stuff."

"But I can't just go tell him that. That I don't want him to… Not when he's…"

"You don't have to do it right now," Grover said. He tried to act normally. He really did. But this was all just so hilarious. He couldn't believe that Annabeth was falling for it. It was priceless. "Maybe you could pull him aside right before the ceremony, or something."

"Maybe…" She trailed off, that familiar _I've-got-a-plan_ glint forming in her eyes. "Or maybe I could do it during the 'speak now or forever hold your peace' part. Do you know if they're planning on including that?"

"I think so," he said, pretending to try to remember. Of course they were. Those seven words were going to be the focal point of the entire plan. "Yeah," he continued. "They are. Rachel said something about it last week."

Annabeth's face, still flushed from yelling earlier, stretched into a diabolical grin. She was already planning something extraordinary. "Perfect."


	4. The Deployment

**A/N: Yeah, I'm skipping a lot of time. But I'm sure you don't really care about all the pre-wedding angst and anxiety (for both Percy and Annabeth) so we're skipping straight to the day of. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!**

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><p><strong>Operation Hold Your Peace<strong>

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><p><strong>Part 4: The Deployment<strong>

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><p>"And you're sure about this?" Sally asked, fussing with Percy's collar for the millionth time that morning. The disobedient fabric simply moved back into its incorrect position when her fingers disappeared, and she sighed. It was hopeless and messy, just like the rest of her son's life. "There are so many risks... Do you even know if she's coming?"<p>

Percy tried to give her a reassuring, confident smile. It turned out looking like he'd swallowed a lemon.

"Yeah, Mom. It'll be fine. We've gone over the plan more times than I'd like to count."

"But we've only gone over the _final_ plan five times." They turned to see a smirking Rachel standing in the doorway. Her hair was all done, and she had most of the horrible gown on already. "So we should probably go over it one more time, for Percy's sake."

He let the comment slide and rolled his eyes. "Isn't it supposed to be bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?"

Sally snorted. "This hardly qualifies as a ceremony, Percy. I swear, the next wedding I go to better be a real one."

"Anywhoo," said Rachel. "Part one: Normal wedding, up until the 'speak now' part. Part two: Annabeth stands up and declares her undying love for you."

"And you're absolutely positive that she's going to do that?" Percy asked nervously.

"I can't see how, yet, but she's going to say something. And part three: you two run out the door holding hands like in one of those cliché romantic comedies, and we all hope that she doesn't kill you when she finds out that this was all planned."

He nodded. "Being murdered after all that would suck. And if she doesn't do anything, our backup plan is to have Apollo come and 'punish' you for trying to get married, right?"

"Yeah, Aphrodite, uh, convinced him," she giggled. "I swear, she likes you two together a lot more than can be healthy. She's going to find some way to reunite the dream team even if this fails."

"Which it won't," Percy said, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache, "because we have a plan that's certified by the Oracle, so it's going to work."

"Of course it will, honey," Sally said, patting her son on the shoulder while giving Rachel an eye roll at his expense. The redhead stifled a laugh, disguising it poorly as a cough.

"Well, I'd better go keep getting ready. Lacey will try to decapitate me if I don't look good my one time in a wedding dress." Rachel scooted out the door, her hideous gown trailing on the ground behind her.

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><p>Grover backed up against the wall spy-style, making a gun with his hands. He still hadn't gotten over the novelty of his double agency.<p>

"Dude," said Nico, fidgeting with his wholly unnecessary bowtie. "Will you cut it out already? I'm annoyed enough that we have to dress up."

"Oh, believe me, I know," Grover muttered. "Get back to me when you try putting on a monkey suit with goat legs."

"Juniper help you with that?"

"Shut up."

The son of Hades snickered.

"Anyway," Grover said loudly, "Have you seen the target yet?"

"Lemme see, Mr. Bond." Nico rolled his eyes and made pretend binoculars with his hands, scanning the entry hall they were positioned in. "Nope. No sign of her."

"I meant _outside_. We're supposed to check every couple minutes."

"Well, duh. If only we had Tyson here—we could just have him listen for her."

Grover looked miffed. "Hey! Satyr hearing is just as good as Cyclops hearing. Besides, Tyson had to be down in the forges."

"I _know_ that. But you're too caught up in your little spy fantasy to pay attention."

A vine from one of the many flower arrangements started wrapping itself around Nico's leg. He yelped and pointed his sword at the plant. It withered and turned a sickly yellow hue.

"Now, now, boys," came a sarcastic voice from the entrance. "No killing the greenery."

Grover and Nico looked up at Annabeth in shock, both of their faces immediately taking on hilariously guilty expressions.

"Hey, Annabeth," Nico said, shooting his partner in crime a very obvious discreet glance. "You look great."

He wasn't lying. She was wearing a bright pink dress, her blonde hair falling in ringlets around her shoulders. And she had makeup on, something he'd only seen on the daughter of Athena twice. He could see the outline of her faithful bronze knife strapped to her thigh. To put it concisely, she looked drop-dead gorgeous. If the outfit was part of her plan to get Percy back, it was definitely going to work.

Grover cleared his throat and nudged Nico in the ribs.

"May I assist you to your seat, ma'am?" the satyr said, gesturing grandly to the rows of chairs and giving her a conspiratorial wink.

"_Please_. Ugh. I'll be glad when this is over," she muttered for Nico's benefit. He grimaced in an appropriately sympathetic manner, keeping up the façade of ignorance. "I just heard Rachel screaming her head off downstairs. Something about her dress not being poufy enough. Poor Lacey."

"I'm sure she'll get out of bridezilla mode once this all gets started," Nico said, struggling to hide his smirk. Rachel had probably had a vision when Annabeth arrived. "Anyway, try not to fall asleep during the ceremony."

Annabeth grinned and let Grover lead her to her seat. As they walked down the aisle, she leaned over and muttered, "Is everything set?"

He nodded, trying to cover his bleating laugh with a cough. "I'll be looking forward to the big event."

"Throw something at me if I start nodding off, will you?"

"Definitely." He smirked and walked back towards the entrance. _The target is in the position_, he thought. Thank the gods for empathy links—they made walkie talkies obsolete. _I repeat, the target is in position_.

_Roger that, agent_. He could practically see Percy rolling his eyes. Grover motioned to Nico and started heading up towards the altar, grinning in anticipation.

This was _so_ going to be on HephaestusTV.


	5. The Event

**A/N: I loved writing this. And since you're going to ask- yes, I had to. I just couldn't do it in compliance with the awful fanon.**

**For anyone who's wondering (which you probably aren't, but I'm putting it anyway) about Rachel's flowers: cornflower for anticipation and celibacy (definition: the state of being unmarried), eglantine roses for a wound to heal, yellow roses for friendship and broken hearts, snowdrops for consolation and hope, and thorn-apple for disguise and deception. I find flower meanings interesting, but I couldn't work most of these into the story, so they ended up in the author's note to be ignored. Oh, well. **

**Stay tuned after this, because there's an epilogue. (Oooh, fancy - an epilogue for a parody.) Enjoy, review, rinse, and repeat!  
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><p><strong>Operation Hold Your Peace<strong>

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><p><strong>Part 5: The Event<strong>

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><p>It was harder than Annabeth thought it would be. Seeing Percy again, that is.<p>

At first glance, he looked amazing. Just like she remembered him—sea green eyes, tan skin, messy black hair—except that he was wearing a tuxedo. And then she _really_ saw him, and realized that Grover had been right. He wasn't okay. His eyes looked tired, even from far away, and they were underscored with dark circles. He seemed beaten down, exhausted. She felt an ache in her chest, seeing him suffering like that. And, on top of everything, he looked like he was about to vomit. His face nearly matched his eyes.

She saw him glance out at the crowd nervously, like he was searching for someone. His eyes landed on her, and he lit up, his face stretching into a grin. Their eyes held, green with grey, and she knew that she was the one he'd been looking for in the crowd. Her heartbeat sped up as the thought gave her new confidence. This was going to work.

The organ began to play, making both of them jump and look away.

To entertain herself during the excruciating wait, she glanced around the room from time to time. There were flowers and ribbons everywhere. Big bunches of blue cornflower and yellow roses adorned the ends of each row of seats. She remembered something she had learned a while ago, something about the language of flowers. Cornflowers stood for anticipation and celibacy, yellow roses for friendship and broken hearts. She frowned, wondering if Rachel had known that the meanings of her arrangements didn't fit the occasion at all. It was strange… Rachel had never been one to ignore hidden meanings and nuances.

A sudden trill interrupted the music, and everyone turned their attention towards the back, where Rachel was standing. Her gargantuan dress took up almost the entire aisle. Mr. Dare had to stand a few feet away so that he didn't step on its lacy edge. As the pair walked up to the altar (did the organ player _mean _to make the march sound so awful?) she tried not to scowl. _It's your own fault for letting it get so bad_, she reminded herself.

She was so wrapped up in the wedding that she nearly forgot to pay attention to it. Her heart pounded as the gray-haired officiator began to speak. This was it, the big moment. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, she reached into her purse and pulled out something that looked like a remote control.

"We are gathered here today to witness the joining in matrimony of Perseus Jackson and Rachel Elizabeth Dare," came the horribly monotonous voice of the officiator. "If any person present knows of any impediment to this marriage, he or she should speak now, or forever—"

Annabeth pressed the big, red button in the center of the device, and the left wall of the building exploded.

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><p>Perhaps Annabeth's plan requires an explanation. It was, after all, nearly as complicated as the wedding plot. You see, our dear friend Tyson the Cyclops wasn't actually being forced to work in the forges on his brother's "wedding" day. In reality, he'd gotten an IM from Annabeth a few weeks prior to the wedding, asking if he could help her stop said wedding.<p>

Over the next few weeks, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson had worked to coordinate the perfect interruption so that Annabeth could talk some since into Percy. (Grover and Tyson, of course, both knew that the wedding was a fake, but they played their parts excellently - Annabeth never had a clue.) The Cyclops had developed a new type of explosive down in the forges, and suggested that it might be useful in Annabeth's plan. The low-charge explosives were wires no bigger than dental floss, and could be detonated remotely. They weren't powerful enough to do more damage than smashing a wall, which was all that the daughter of Athena needed. It would be perfect.

The trio carried out test run after test run, making sure that the plan would go seamlessly. By the week before the big day, they had orchestrated the exact moment when Tyson would plant the explosives, how he would position them, when Grover would check them, and when Annabeth would finally press the detonation button. No aspect was left to chance.

Both Grover and Tyson had refused to tell Percy about the plot, which meant that he was completely shocked when he heard a loud _BOOM!_ behind him and felt shrapnel rain against his back. He turned and stumbled backward a few steps, staring at the gaping hole in the wall with an almost comically surprised expression. Before anyone could react more than screaming (Mr. Dare exhibited quite a colorful vocabulary) and running away, Percy felt something—some_one_ invisible yank him towards the new, convenient exit. An enormous grin spread across his face.

He ended up pressed against the back of the building, held there by the same invisible person. He reached up and removed the trusty Yankees cap from Annabeth's head. And then there she stood, grinning in that _I-just-executed-the-most-brilliant-plan_ way that he loved so much.

"You," she said menacingly, still smirking, "are not getting married today, Mr. Jackson."

"You came." He ran his hands through her hair as if he couldn't believe she was _there_. "You actually came."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Of course, Seaweed Brain. I couldn't let you get away that easily."

The still-flaming building served as the perfect backdrop when he pulled her in for an oh-so-cliché kiss.

After all, blowing things up was nothing new to them.


	6. The Aftermath

**A/N: **First off, I have to put in a plug for_ high fiving jesus_'s story Cliche; chapter 6 is Speak Now/Hold Your Piece and it's absolutely awesome :) Check it out if you want a deeper, more angsty-slash-heartbreaking version of the stereotypical wedding drama, or if you just want to read a good fic.  
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**Woo, epilogue! Um, yeah. Anyway, thanks to all the people who reviewed/favorited this story: purpleprincess 77, Athena's Owlet24, TheGirlWithHerHeadInTheClouds, Midnight Flower525, IFoundAPickle, athena4ever, booklover484, Eleos, Hedley Is Amazing, Unsuspected, Sabriel-TS, alleyf98, high fiving jesus, xFireStar, tashieeeee, DemigodWitch96, Alexandria, Abby, OfAngels, Silents-in-the-Library, awesomelyevilphsychokid, TheOnlyMarauderette, WiseGirl747, crimsonbelle11, LittleMissRanbowHalf-Blood, Mary-sues-sucks, mixedtapes, planes oceans and symphonies, Resa Hemoor, 1118, xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx, lovemeforever04, Purpleblob, KTMILLI05, flashdash411, FINDtheHufflepuffs, and all the anonymous reviewers out there!  
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**Thank you all for the support and encouragement :) Enjoy, review, rinse, and repeat!  
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><p><strong>Operation Hold Your Peace<strong>

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><p><strong>Part 6: The Aftermath<strong>

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><p>Eight months later, Annabeth stood at the end of the aisle, looking at Percy with an enormous grin lighting up her face.<p>

They'd been banned for life from the place they'd blown up ("It was _your_ fault," Percy always reminded her playfully), so they got Juniper to do their wedding at Camp Half-Blood. Apparently, nymphs did really nice, nature-y ones. They chose to hold the ceremony in the arena, because nowhere else had seemed appropriate, so half of their guests were straw dummies.

Rachel was the maid of honor. She and Annabeth got along fine, now that the whole fake-wedding plan had come out into the open. (Annabeth had pushed Percy out a window when she found out, but thankfully the curse of Achilles covered defenestration, and no mortals saw.) "As long as my dress doesn't make me look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man again," Rachel had said when Annabeth asked.

Once Annabeth got up to the altar, Juniper began the ceremony.

"Demigods, mortals, nymphs, satyrs, centaurs, et cetera, et cetera," she began. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the fact that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have finally gotten their acts together and decided to get married. Oh, wait, sorry. I wasn't supposed to say that.

"Anyway," she continued after the non-straw-dummy audience members stopped laughing, "If anyone here knows of any reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever hold your peace. We ask that you refrain from explosions of any kind."

Just then, the doors of the arena burst open, revealing a very angry-looking Minotaur. (They learned later that its appearance was a prank courtesy of the Stolls and Nico.)

"Of course," Percy grumbled, Riptide already uncapped and ready for action. The Minotaur threw one of Mrs. O'Leary's giant squeaky toys, which let out a very intimidating _SQUEEEAAAK!_ as it collided with the stone seats of the arena.

"Usual plan," came Annabeth's voice. Percy turned to see that she'd put on her magic Yankees cap. He shrugged and ran forward.

"Hey, Beef Boy!" he yelled. "Didn't anyone tell you? You're not on the guest list."

The Minotaur bellowed and started spinning his battle axe, glaring at its old enemy. But before Percy could even strike, the monster poofed into yellowish dust with a confused grunt. Annabeth emerged from the smoke coughing and brushing the dust off her simple white dress. (She'd refused to wear anything too elaborate in case she needed to fight.)

"No fair," he said, grinning. "I get the next one."

Annabeth laughed. "Deal."

The rest of the wedding went off without a hitch, other than a few new campers accidentally stumbling in during the vows (they'd forgotten that all swordfighting had been canceled for the day), and Mrs. O'Leary trying to get them all to play Get the Greek in the middle of the ring ceremony, and Clarisse yelling "Get a room!" when their kiss went a little longer than planned.

By demigod standards, it was the perfect wedding. And, as Sally said afterward, "At least it was real this time."


End file.
